With B.o.B, you have to take the good (Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj cameos) with the bad (Ryan Tedder, more Ryan Tedder). As on his first album, the Atlanta rapper has called in a crazy array of guests, some of whom (hi, Nicki!) upstage him; he has a few punch lines ("I'm Top Chef, you Top Ramen"), but his strength is being inquisitive, like detailing his wealth, then asking if it matters. Kanye West did this kind of thing for years, and he had punch lines like a Daily Show writer. In his heated drawl, his lovely singing, his producing and guitar- and piano-playing, B.o.B shows off a vast talent. But when the record ends, you just want to hear the Dr. Luke beats again. 

Listen to "So Good":

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• Photos: Random Notes

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."